Chapter 362 Things have changed
After walking around the city, Jiang Lin stopped at a corner.
In front of it is a dilapidated house with several large holes in the roof and collapsed walls.
Several people were kneading the straw ropes, and there was a corpse on the ground, covered with a tattered straw mat, exposing bare feet that were dark and thickly calloused.
The person rubbing the straw rope looks numb, neither sad nor happy.
Not far away from them, a little girl with braids and who looked about two or three years old was squatting on the ground, holding half a pancake made of unknown content in her hand.
It was very difficult for her to chew, but she concentrated on eating.
The whole body was dirty, even the fingernails were filled with dirt, and some of them were chewed into the mouth along the pancakes, but they didn't seem to know it.
When the man behind him saw Jiang Lin staring at her, he explained: "The woman who died was a woman. Her husband had been starving for the past two years. After leaving the city, he was arrested and forced to practice hard. It is said that he died before he could survive the disaster."
"People here are not allowed to remarry. Women without husbands have a harder time living. Death is considered a blessing."
Jiang Lin listened silently, is death considered a blessing?
At this time, several people at the door had already twisted the hemp rope, went over and tied up the straw mat with the body, and then carried it on their shoulders and went out.
They passed by the little girl. While the child was nibbling pancakes, she looked up and saw her dirty hair and half of her forehead exposed from the straw mat.
Her eyes were blank and she didn't know what was happening. She was still chewing the cake as hard as a brick in her hand silently, and watched as several people carried her mother's body away.
Maybe it won't be until much later that she realizes that she no longer has a mother.
The man sighed and said, "Things like this happen so often in Sangzhou, it's not surprising."
Jiang Lin watched those people leave, and then moved his eyes to the girl who finished eating the pancakes, ran into the house, leaned half of her body into the tank, and drank water.
The thin body was dangling on the edge of the water tank, as if it was about to fall in at any time.
"Will anyone take care of this child?" Jiang Lin asked.
"Others can come to help dispose of the body, which is considered a kindness. My own family doesn't have enough to eat or wear, so how can I have time to care about other people's children?"
The man paused for a moment, and then said: "Some children will starve to death, and some will run out of the city when they are so hungry and disappear without a trace."
"Go back and get some food." Jiang Lin said.
The man knew what he was going to do and said: "Sir, this is useless. Even if you bring food, it will be taken away by others before long. She cannot keep a child..."
"Go get it." Jiang Lin's voice was low, but there was no doubt about it.
The man seemed to feel something and did not dare to say anything. He quickly turned around and ran back.
Jiang Lin slowly walked towards the little girl who had finished drinking the water, patted her dark belly, looked around, and squatted at the door to pick out lumps of mud.
When she came to a stop, the girl looked up and then lowered her head to continue playing with herself.
But what's the fun in this? From anyone's point of view, it's extremely boring.
But she was immersed in it, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
Jiang Lin glanced into the room, then walked over and picked up a rusty kitchen knife.
He stretched out his hand and easily tore open the kitchen knife, leaving only a small piece of iron.
Then he used his fingers as a hammer and kept tapping on the blade.
A touch of fire essence continued to burst out with the movements of the fingers. The torn and damaged kitchen knife quickly improved in quality and gradually evolved into a small dagger.
With Jiang Lin's current skill level, it is not difficult to build a low-quality weapon with his bare hands.
Jiang Lin stopped when the little dagger reached the sixth level.
He walked back, squatted down next to the little girl, then handed the dagger over and said: "Use this to dig."
The little girl took the dagger curiously and stabbed it towards the ground.
Although the sixth grade is not of high quality, it is still very easy to use to dig out mud blocks.
Seeing the large piece of soil being lifted up, the little girl suddenly became happy.
At this time, the man had returned with some food.
"My lord."
Jiang Lin reached out and took out the steamed buns and meat. The little girl smelled the aroma and immediately turned her head to look over.
Her eyes suddenly showed undisguised desire. Jiang Lin handed it to her mouth and said softly: "Eat it."
The child was careless and immediately took it and ate it in big gulps.
The man was afraid that she would choke, so he quickly went to scoop out water from the tank.
Jiang Lin squatted beside him and watched the girl eat the whole bun and at least three ounces of meat, and even licked her fingers.
He pinched the tiny wrist. The little girl subconsciously wanted to struggle, but she heard a soft voice coming into her ears: "Pick up the dagger and stab it forward. I will give you something to eat."
The little girl was confused and didn't know what she meant.
Jiang Lin picked up the dagger, stabbed it forward, and then stuffed it into her hand.
The little girl hesitated, then tentatively stabbed forward with the dagger.
Although the movement was very small, Jiang Lin immediately gave her a steamed bun.
The child was immediately overjoyed. Just as he was about to eat, Jiang Lin called him to stop him.
"Keep pricking, and I'll give you something to eat."
This time, the little girl stabbed forward with the dagger without hesitation. Her movements were faster and more powerful than before.
Jiang Lin took another piece of meat and placed it next to her and said, "Continue." The man stood there, watching Jiang Lin guide the little girl to attack with the dagger, and there seemed to be understanding in his eyes.
But then he shook his head secretly, thinking that adults have good intentions, but what's the use?
After all the food that the man brought was eaten, the little girl's stabbing movements became somewhat decent.
Jiang Lin accompanied her to move all the food into the house, then patted her little hairless head and said softly: "Remember, if anyone comes to snatch your food, stab him with this thing."
The little girl looked up at him with a vague understanding. Jiang Lin was silent for a few seconds, and then said: "If I can protect your food, I will let someone give it to you again. If it is robbed, you can give it to you again." There is nothing to eat, and I will starve to death.”
The little girl should have understood this.
She turned her head and looked at the food piled up in a place made of rotten wood and bricks, which was roughly a table. Then she held the dagger and stabbed forward a few times, and then quickly looked at Jiang Lin.
It looked like he was waiting for praise.
"That's it, you did a good job." Jiang Lin touched her head and walked out.
The little girl's voice came from behind, and the man turned around and saw that the daggers were being practiced one after another.
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He turned his head back and whispered: "It's just a two or three-year-old girl. Even if the adults give her weapons, she can't defend her."
"I'm not a saint or an emperor, I'm just a blacksmith." Jiang Lin looked forward and said as he walked: "If I can do something, I will do it, even if you think it is meaningless. But if I don't do it, I will Can’t sleep.”
"But this is Sangzhou, and there are countless children like this. Do you want to take care of each one in person?"
Jiang Lin paused in his steps and raised his head to look at the sky.
The sun is not warm enough in this season, it is gray and gloomy.
"Sometimes I really feel that the naivety here is so damned."
It was rare for Jiang Lin to say something bad. He rarely said bad words because he felt that it would not solve anything and would only make people discover their own powerlessness.
This is the case with Jiang Lin now.
I obviously don't like everything here, but I can't change anything.
Can a dagger and a pile of food allow that little girl to survive safely?
The probability is extremely low.
But as he said himself, if he doesn’t do some things, he really won’t be able to sleep at night.
No matter how much time passes, Jiang Lin feels that he will never truly adapt to the rules here.
This made the thought in his heart become more intense.
"I really want to blow this day...to pieces!"
"Sir, some children have already gone in to rob him," the man reminded.
Jiang Lin turned his head and saw a dozen or twenty half-year-old children swarming into the broken house.
The cry of the little girl could be clearly heard, and the young figure was pushed directly to the ground.
The food was snatched away by other children, and there were many adults watching nearby. Maybe the children who went to snatch things were from their family.
"It's useless." The man repeated again.
Jiang Lin also understood that it was useless, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
At this moment, only a scream was heard.
Jiang Lin looked around and saw the little girl holding a dagger in her hand. In front of her was a boy who was a head taller than her, covering his thigh and falling to the ground wailing.
The boy looked at the little girl holding the dagger, with a look of fear on his face, and struggled to crawl out, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.
In the field of vision, the little girl only had anger in her eyes.
Even the youngest children can get angry.
She was like a crazy little tiger, making a fierce howling sound, running over to hug the few remaining food, and pointed the dagger in her hand at the child who was still trying to come over.
Whoever wants to come in will be stabbed with her dagger even harder without hesitation!
Jiang Lin's face suddenly showed a smile.
Useless?
It may not be of much use, but at least... it proves that rules can be broken.
No matter how gloomy the sky is in Sangzhou, it’s not a day without the sun!
Jiang Lin didn't look any further and turned to leave.
The man behind him was puzzled. Your Excellency is obviously kind-hearted and hates suffering. Why don't you care now?
After returning to the shop, the shopkeeper hurriedly came forward and said with cupped hands: "Sir, the map has been drawn."
"You've done a great job. This is a reward for you." Jiang Lin took out a bag from his arms and handed it over.
The shopkeeper opened it and saw that the fragrance of elixir immediately hit his nostrils. It was the Bafang Zhendan and health-preserving elixir refined by Xia Shanliu and others.
"Sir, this..." The shopkeeper was suddenly shocked. Pills were not allowed to appear in Sangzhou.
"Are you scared?" Jiang Lin asked with a smile.
The shopkeeper smiled bitterly and said: "You know the rules here. If the ascetics know..."
"Then fight!" Jiang Lin suddenly suppressed his smile and said in a cold voice: "Sangzhou is also the territory of Daqian. The emperor has not explicitly banned elixirs. Why are the ascetics? If they dare to mess around, fight me! You fight But I’ll do it! If I can’t fight, I’ll go find the border troops!”
"In my opinion, Emperor Taizu still killed too few people back then!"
"The sky in Sangzhou cannot always be cloudy."
"It's either sunny or full of blood!"
(End of chapter)